Status Of Blacks In The Unites States

Essay, Research Paper

Less than Equal

The initial Status of Blacks in the Unites States

Chanel Frampton

Government Period 3

December 18, 2000

Less than Equal

The initial status of blacks in the United States

.For much of black America life seems suspended. In the bleakness of filth and of the inner cities our people go through motions of living. On the street corners jobless men still wait, among the garbage and rats children still play. There are some features to the scene City blocks are ravaged by the riot, the bums and blocked buildings, the empty lots still stand like silent witnesses to their futile anger.(Lusane C ,1994, p.135).

Historically African American have endured a large amount of economic distress. Exploitation for labor for 400 years brought about turmoil. There was no land for the black people. They were not allowed voting privileges now nor then. There was a lot mind manipulation that took place. Lack of self worth was one of their main concerns. The slave owners made divisions between the black people by favoring light over dark blacks put a wedge between the African community as a whole. Black people were also ousted from the community due to their dark skin and discrimination towards them. .Black people are weakened by their own distrust and jealousies of each other by our factionalism and feuding”(Natanson ,1992, p. 56). Black people today are no better politically, economicly, or socially than they were before despite the numerous efforts that they have made.

Problems with social equity existed in the preceding years with African American. More than two blacks were prohibited to congregate at on time because there were laws that hindered it. Also there were Jim Crow laws that were very oppressive to the African American community. Rejection from bathrooms and drinking fountains and restaurants forced blacks to segregate from the community. Schools were also segregated but not equal. This was said to be unconstitutional in the Brown vs Board trial. In the 1960s, African American demanded their own school boards with the power to hire and fire principles and teachers and to construct a curriculum that would be relevant to the special needs and culture of the ghetto youth. This would allow blacks to have a say in the curriculum that was being taught to the children. Police brutality is another main concern in the community. There has been a growing recognition that the law enforcement is particularly crucial in maintaining the status of blacks in America. Police include the highest proportion of individual racists. In the 1960.s African Americans were hosed when protesting the injustices of society. Their demands and peaceful marches were looked upon as uprisings against the government and the police arrested them and used the water hose to stop their cause.

Furthermore, a political set back to the African Americans was the grandfather clause that prevented any male whose grandfather could not vote, not to vote either.. Money and ownership of property was the economic tool that allowed for political status ;yet the blacks were neglected the right to own or buy anything thus meaning their voice was nonexistent. Also the government intimidation with strong black political leaders forced them to kill the people that blacks looked up to and respected. Dr King believed that the issue of war and justice are not separate and that we must fight against both. . For the struggle we rage is not of race alone but of human justice, and we cannot solve the issue of race without dealing with the issue of justice. (Swain C, 1995 ,p 257). Martin Luther King became the example for blacks to watch. He advocated peace and unity yet his beliefs were too much for people to accept. Malcolm X on the other was an extremist he believed in taking action getting revenge on the people who hurt African Americans. His forceful and radical methods were the cause of his assignation. The southern based nonviolent civil right movement died a victim of the US racism which sparked the first urban rebellions in the northern black ghettoes.

In present day America the social barriers still exist for many African Americans. African Americans are denied from jobs that they are truly qualified for. Often blacks and Latinos are forced to compete for insufficient and inadequate resources in education, health social service employment and economic development an housing There is also a lot discrimination. Since 1995, the revocation of the affirmative action bill, the number of African Americans being accepted into the prestigious colleges has been reduced. (Mitchel P , 1996, p 342)African Americans also suffer from illiteracy and the poor education that they receive in the public schooling systems. Oakland school Board attempted to help the African American student by proposing a bill that educated the teachers on the format of the Ebonics language but that was denied. Another barrier would be the racial profiling. Racial profiling allows for police to pull over African American males that are driving for no logical reason; except for that fact that they are black. Also, the government has lowered the standards for felonies amd the crimes that have to be committed for blacks to go to jail. A lot of women are raising their kids by themselves. Broken homes are not beneficial especially when the mother